DANILO Pï¿½REZ CELEBRATES THE RELEASE OF
PROVIDENCIA AT JAZZ STANDARD
ON NOVEMBER 18 - 21

"The
latest CD from pianist Danilo Perez strikes me as his best
yet...Providencia is delightfully diverse but united by Perez's
broad and deep artistic vision. It's constantly daring in all its
aspects, but Perez's risks always pay off - from his thrilling
piano work on one level to the surprising pacing and ordering of
the disc's music." - Peter Hum, The Ottawa
Citizen

Danilo
Pï¿½rez, the acclaimed Panamanian pianist, educator and social
activist, is set to perform at Jazz Standard on November 18 - 21. Pï¿½rez will
celebrate the release of his Mack Avenue Records debut, Providencia,
with sets at 7:30 PM & 9:30 PM (Friday & Saturday, third
set at 11:30 PM). The performances will feature Pï¿½rez's trio,
consisting of bassist Ben
Street and drummer Adam
Cruz.

Fatherhood changes everyone; for pianist/composer Danilo Pï¿½rez, the
birth of his two young daughters threw down a gauntlet of sorts, a
challenge to provide a better world for the girls to grow up in.
"What are you doing so we can have a healthy life in the future?"
he imagined them asking. "What are you adults leaving us?"

On a practical level, Pï¿½rez has been working busily to answer that
question both in his native Panama and his adopted home of Boston. His annual Panama Jazz
Festival has brought world-renowned musicians to the country for
the last seven years, not only to perform but also to work closely
with local youth. That mission is carried on yearlong by the
Fundaciï¿½n Danilo Pï¿½rez, which offers musical and cultural education
to disadvantaged young people in Panama City. In Boston, he now
heads the Berklee Global Jazz
Institute, which offers music students an opportunity to
explore creativity, advance the social power of music, and connect
music with the restoration of ecology and humanity. These efforts
are in addition to his activities as a member of Wayne Shorter's
acclaimed quartet.

Providencia
is an attempt to provide a complementary musical answer to the same
question. "This record is based on the idea that whatever we do has
an impact in the universe," Pï¿½rez says. "The word 'providence,' for
me, means standing up for the future of the next generation of
children."

That may sound like a tall order for any art form to fulfill, but
Pï¿½rez has an expansive view of music's power and reach, expressed
not only in his goals for the album but in its diverse palette and
broad scope. Providencia
crosses streams of jazz, classical and Latin American folk
music-which Pï¿½rez refers to as "hearing music in three
dimensions."

The ensemble Pï¿½rez has assembled for this album is itself an
expression of his concept of "global jazz," an idea he carries on
from his stint with the legendary Dizzy Gillespie's United Nations
Orchestra. Alongside the Panamanian leader, the group includes his
trio, Indian-American saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa,
Lebanese-American percussionist Jamey Haddad, Colombian conga
player Ernesto Diaz, Portuguese vocalist Sara Serpa and a
Boston-based woodwind quintet.

Pï¿½rez ultimately reflects on an answer to the questions he imagines
his daughters posing: "The future will be a reflection of what we
say, think and do today. Let's use wisdom and our art of providence
as a flashlight to guide us to the restoration of humanity."